4.10.2015

Fab Friday Five - DOUBLE EDITION

I didn't do a FFF last Friday because most of the day was spent driving to Boca and the rest of the weekend was a blur. So I'm doing a double edition this week (yay for you)! No big theme...just a random pulling together of ten things. Let's get started!

This was announced on (or around) April 1 and everybody thought it was an April Fool's joke...but it's not! It's for real. You have to request an invitation (and be a PRIME member) to get it. Visit the website to see what brands are available. I don't tend to use Amazon to buy my trashbags, k-cups, and paper towel, but maybe I might start if they come with an "easy" button! If only they'd make one for the Cat Litter Genie refills that I always seem to forget to buy.

The restaurant we ate at (three times!) this weekend while at the hotel in Boca had this amazing citrus butter. I'm not sure how they made it as they said they don't use cream in their butter, but it was AMAZING. It was light and sweet and tasted like sugary orangey awesomeness. Especially when lathered (and yes, I do mean lathered as I used two little dishes of this stuff) on their whole grain blueberry pancakes. So I looked up "citrus butter" and this was the ONLY recipe I found for an orangey-citrus edible butter...all the rest were body butters. Maybe it'll taste similar, I don't know...but I'm going to make this for sure!!

(The restaurant, by the way, is Farmer's Table at the Wyndham in Boca Raton, FL and the $15 burger is totally worth it if you get it with caramelized onions and goat cheese!)

I know I'm not the only one who struggles with drawing on the iPad or writing something down and it comes out looking like I had sausage fingers. I even struggle with this when using a standard stylus. But oh looky here...our favorite computer drawing company has designed a stylus with a fine-point nib for using like an actual pen on a tablet! It comes in colors, is a bit pricey ($60), and is fully functional (complete with pressure sensitivity) with several apps (including the Wacom Bamboo Paper app available for tablets). If I had an extra $60 to spend on one of these right now, I totally would!!

While in Florida this past weekend, we ate dinner at my FAVORITE restaurant. And I don't just mean favorite in Florida....I mean favorite in the entire freaking world (even above the Gordon Ramsey restaurant we ate at in London on our honeymoon). Maggiano's Little Italy is located all over the place...and if you love Italian food, this place takes the cake. It has a family dining option where you pick so many appetizers, entrees, and desserts for the table...and they'll bring out as much as you want and will even pack up the rest of what's left on your table for you to take home. Anyway...my absolute favorite item there is the Crispy Zucchini Fritte with Lemon Aioli. I could eat this all day long and not feel the slightest bit bad about the fact that it's fried. And the aioli..mmm! It's garlicky and lemony and tart and so so good! So these fried zucchini bites right here look like they'll be an adequate substitution for all those days when I really want them but I'm nowhere near a Maggiano's.(I need them so bad already I'm already planning on making them on Saturday.)

Even though I can't afford any of them, I really do love the idea of subscription boxes. A monthly fee to have a box of neat stuff shipped right to you (or your dog via Barkbox)...how neat is that?! There are a ton of these that I look at all the time...my favorite one, Blue Apron, I am determined to try at some point, no matter the cost! But this is the first time I've seen this box by Sketchbox. There are two varieties: Basic ($25) and Premium ($35). The boxes come equipped with about 7 art supplies and an art print made entirely using the products (not necessarily the colors) in the box. The premium box says it has "more expensive" art supplies in it. I just love this box! Not that I have the time to sit down and do anything artsy (though if I continue to think about becoming a stay-at-home-mom when Aria goes to Kindergarten, I'll have lots of time!)

Aria has been on SUCH good behavior lately that I rewarded her by renting this movie yesterday and letting her watch it (on a school night). She really has been so great. She was perfect for the total of 20 hours we were in the car both ways on vacation, she was extra perfect at the Passover seder, she overcame her fears and floated in the pool without one of us holding on to her, she's been cleaning up her toys when I ask, eating (some) dinner, and taking a shower (less than 10 minutes) without crying about wanting a bubble bath with toys instead. So I rented this movie because neither of us had seen it and I heard it was awesome. Of course, when the menu popped up on the screen, Aria said "Oh mommy, I've seen this movie! I like it!" and she informed me that she had watched it at playdate a couple weeks ago, but she wanted to watch it again. This movie, y'all, is super great. It's got this big loveable guy who's sole purpose is to help those in need. And there's this beautiful sacrifice that had me balling on the couch with Aria saying "mommy, why are you crying?!" I highly recommend watching it, even if you don't have kids...it's beautiful.

We're going camping next weekend and, I'm not going to lie, I'm kind of hoping that Aria hates it so that we don't have to go too often. Don't get me wrong, I like to be outdoors...if i'm at the pool or the beach. But camping? Blech. There's bugs and constant dirt and more bugs and tons more bugs. A friend of mine at work was telling me about this thing and how it's better than bug spray. You fill the top canister with regular table salt, cock the shotgun one time, and flip the saftey. Then you take aim at the offending arthropod (or arachnid) and pull the trigger. Salt blasts out with such force it's like hitting the bugs with a bunch of teeny tiny bebes. Oh yeah...I'm excited about seeing this thing work!
Check out some videos on YouTube...you'll be wanting to get one, too!